Publisher profile

PLOS

An open-access research publisher with distinct editorial criteria across its multidisciplinary and specialist journals.

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Overview

Life sciences, medicine and multidisciplinary research

PLOS is a nonprofit publisher focused on open science. Its journals are not interchangeable submission destinations. PLOS Biology looks for significant advances across the biological sciences, whereas PLOS One’s editorial process evaluates submissions against its own publication criteria. Read those criteria before deciding whether a broad or specialist readership is appropriate.

Open access does not mean that every author pays an individual fee. PLOS combines publication charges with institutional arrangements and assistance programmes. Where assistance is needed, make the application at submission: PLOS states that later requests are not considered. Resolve funding early while preparing the scientific and reporting requirements separately.

Fees, institutional support and assistance

Publishing model: Open access, supported by fees and institutional models
Subject coverage: Life sciences, medicine and multidisciplinary research
Journal directory: Browse publisher’s journals
Sources checked: 13 November 2026

The assessment

What the rating tells you.

Read our methodology

Safe & Trusted

The publisher is classified as Safe & Trusted in our directory. This is a positive publisher-level assessment. The next step is to confirm that the particular journal meets your research, funding and institutional requirements.

How the assessment is formed

Our evaluation framework considers peer review, editorial credibility, transparency, publishing ethics, indexing and researcher feedback. The overall rating and category are recorded here; a criterion-by-criterion score breakdown is not included in this record.

A rating is not a guarantee of a journal’s suitability or of a particular publication outcome. Check policies at the journal level and confirm claims at their source.

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Publishing practices
to examine.

Read the sources for each assessment area. Checked 13 November 2026. These summaries describe published policies and verification steps; they do not recalculate the directory rating.

Assessment areaWhat to look forPublisher policies and sources

Editorial accountability

Named editors, relevant affiliations and a clear way to contact the editorial office.

PLOS Biology combines staff editors and academic editors. Use the journal’s own staff and board pages to identify responsibilities.PLOS Biology editorial model

Peer review

A documented review model, reviewer selection and a process for editorial decisions.

PLOS One separates initial checks, academic-editor assessment and external review. Consult the chosen title’s process and criteria rather than transferring one journal’s threshold to another.PLOS One review process

Indexing and discoverability

The exact journal title and ISSN in the index itself; coverage dates and current status.

Check the exact journal title, ISSN and coverage dates in the database required by your institution. Inclusion of one title does not establish coverage for the publisher’s other journals.Publisher journal catalogue How to verify indexing

Fees and business model

A complete fee schedule, payment timing, waivers and any additional publication charges.

Fees depend on the journal and article type, with institutional coverage and assistance routes. Apply for financial assistance at submission, before an editorial decision.Publication fees and fee assistance

Copyright and licensing

The publishing agreement, author rights and a licence that meets your funder’s requirements.

PLOS uses CC BY, allowing reuse with attribution. Authors retain copyright; ensure any third-party material can be included under the required terms.Licences and copyright

Ethics and corrections

Policies on authorship, competing interests, misconduct, appeals, corrections and retractions.

Read the correction, expression-of-concern and retraction policy for the journal. Authors should report an error and supply information that enables an editorial assessment.PLOS One corrections policy

Digital preservation

A named preservation service and a clear long-term access policy.

The journal information links to publishing details and archiving information. Check the title’s archive record separately from its indexing claims.PLOS Biology indexing and archiving

Selected journals.
Different audiences.

These examples illustrate the publisher’s range; they are not its complete catalogue. Follow each journal’s page for current scope, editorial information and submission requirements.

Browse publisher’s journal directory

PLOS One

A multidisciplinary research journal. Its editorial process includes initial checks and academic-editor assessment against the journal’s publication criteria.

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PLOS Biology

Research across biological scales, from molecules to ecosystems. It seeks significant advances and offers different formats for methods, resources and stages of discovery.